Tag Archives: taxes

Tax extenders are a group of fifty tax breaks that apply not only to small businesses but teachers and individuals as well. What you need to be concerned with are those that apply directly to small businesses. While these tax breaks are temporary in nature, they can have a serious impact on how you conduct your business for the next year.

In 2013, these tax breaks actually expired on December 31st, but the United States Congress retroactively extended the tax breaks into 2014. They typically do this at the last moment of the year, or right after the first of the new year, making it difficult for small businesses to plan ahead. These tax breaks are also only renewed for one year meaning they will have need to extend them again before the end of 2014, so they can carry over into 2015.

It is generally more tax-efficient to be paid a salary than to receive dividends, given that salary expense is deductible and dividends are paid on an after-tax basis. If the IRS thinks some portion of your salary really should be treated as a distribution of profit, that portion would be added to the pool of corporate revenue subject to tax.

It all comes down to the meaning of the word “reasonable.”

It all comes down to the IRS definition of “reasonable.”

“Whether the pay is reasonable depends on the circumstances that existed when you contracted for the services, not those that exist when the reasonableness is questioned,” according to the IRS.

Suppose, for example, you paid yourself a $250,000 salary at a time when your company was small, with gross revenue of $500,000, two employees besides yourself, and you were not working around the clock. Suppose further that after five years your business has tripled in size and you are still paying yourself $250,000.

Nobody wants to be audited by the IRS, but many taxpayers make simple mistakes that can lead to just that.

Many Americans will file their income tax return early before the April 15 deadline to receive their tax refund. Some IRS audits are randomly selected and based solely on a statistical formula, the IRS says, but other audits can happen when documents simply don’t add up.

Good news. If you’re self-employed, a sole proprietor, or a freelancer, there are a number of travel and business-related expenses you can take advantage of to help reduce your taxable income. Keep in mind: in order for a travel expense to be deductible, you have to be away from your “tax home” (AKA your regular place of business).

So, when are you considered traveling away from your “tax home”? You are away from your tax home if:

Your job duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home, substantially longer than an ordinary day’s work, AND . . .

You need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away from home.

Following the most wonderful time of the year is a season that strikes fear in the hearts of many small business owners: tax time.

Shelling out a substantial percentage of the year’s income is stressful enough, but tax season also brings with it a great deal of complexity and confusion. Tax laws are constantly changing and being revised, and it can be difficult for small business owners to keep up. And what adds even more stress to tax filing is that even innocent mistakes or oversights can lead to big penalties.

Burger King is going to have it Tim Hortons’ way, and Warren Buffett will be their server today – or at least their financier.

The Burger King deal seems to be one part tax inversion and one part market diversification, but critics have focused mostly on the former. With the combined company moving its headquarters to Ontario, Burger King is set to join the ranks of corporate expatriates.

Democrats are none too pleased. “Burger King’s decision to abandon the United States means consumers should turn to Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers or White Castle sliders,” declared Sen. Sherrod Brown. “Burger King has always said ‘Have it Your Way’; well my way is to support two Ohio companies that haven’t abandoned their country or customers.”

This week, the House voted to not only extend a tax break for small businesses but to make it permanent.The specific provision that the House advanced involves Section 179 of the Tax Code. Under Section 179, small businesses can immediately write off certain qualifying expenses as a deduction in one year rather than depreciating those costs over a number of years. The result is generally very tax favorable.